~ Vibes of a global bon vivant!

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There’s something about experiencing national holidays while outside of the US. Between 2012 and 2014, I’ve now spent a few of these special days abroad, away from family, but very much with good friends (some of whom have become family). Whether it has been Thanksgiving, Christmas or the Fourth of July, one thing is pretty standard, while there’s tons of food and camaraderie to be had, there’s no place like home. But that’s okay! After all, part of the reason for being in a new country in the first place is because you were looking for something out of the ordinary of home life and what is to be expected at Auntie’s annual cookout. In July 2014, I spent the 4th in Hong Kong with a couple of friends who were with me on a two month internship. One was a fellow Californian, and the other was actually Danish! The three of us set out to Central, a hip section on HK Island, to have what was billed as an authentic American Fourth of July Dinner, complete with bar-b-que, corn on the cobb, a baked potato and baked beans, cole slaw and watermelon. We all agreed, unfortunately, that it was nothing to write home about, whether home was the US or Denmark!

A couple of years before I spent Thanksgiving in the UAE with a group of colleagues from the US. One of our co-workers asked her mom to internationally Fed-Ex some staple ingredients that are usually found across Black American dinner tables on Thanksgiving. I have to admit, that food spread was some kind of wonderful, and it was particularly special to not only break bread with friends from all over the world, but to take part in the tradition of circling up and expressing what we were genuinely thankful for. Though we were easily twelve hours ahead of the actual time of the holiday in the States, it was perfect timing for all of us that made it! I don’t think I’ve had a similar Thanksgiving experience since that one year in Dubai. It certainly made an impression that I’ll never forget.

Then there was Christmas and New Year’s in South Africa! Thanks to a dear friend who I consider family at this point, I was invited to spend about two weeks in SA where I visited Johannesburg, Mafikeng, Stellenbosch, Cape Town and Soweto. The was, in effect, my introduction to life on the Mother Continent, and has every bit to do with why I’m interested in spending some more significant time there. Though I arrived and spent a day or so in Jozie, we left for Mafikeng, the town where my friend was raised, and spent about five days with her parents and family, including Christmas day and their annual day after Christmas party. At first it was a bit strange that Christmas in SA takes place during their summer season, and I made such a big deal about being able to wear a sun dress on Christmas day… until it dawned on me that there have been MANY a Christmas in Southern Cali where I was raised where the temperatures were in the mid-70s or higher!

My hands down favorite holiday abroad was New Year’s Eve in Cape Town! A couple of days before, my friends and I had spent the afternoon wine farm hopping in Stellenbosch where the wineries are plentiful. The joie de vivre and camaraderie tripled once December 31st arrived and we put on our all white, feathers and masquerade masks!

Starting the evening with dinner at The Grand Daddy Hotel Cape Town and ringing the new year at St. Yves in Camps Bay, we celebrated January 1st surrounded by their beautiful friends at a party sponsored by Ciroc at Cape Royale! This is the AFRICA I want more of!!!!! #FACTS

While I’m no longer interested in living abroad full time, at least not at this part of my life, I really could see spending more New Year’s Eve celebrations in South Africa with the homies! They really know how to live it up, and that’s all a global bon vivant can ask for!!!

Now that I’m back in NYC, the hunt is on to find Chicken Green Curry on the same level as what I had in Bangkok! That food was BANGIN’!!!! I was only there for a few hours, around fourteen to be exact. Leaving Hong Kong on a Friday afternoon, I booked my flight via Thailand then onto Finland before arriving at JFK the following Sunday night in late July. It was quite the adventure to say the least, where I hit up the Patpong Night Market in Si Lom Bangkok, stopped by Smiles Jazz Club for a late night jam session, ventured across the street for an even later session of Thai massage, and then ended up at a little restaurant after 2am across the street from my hotel, The Siam Heritage Boutique Suites.

I wish I remembered the name of the restaurant, but should I ever return to Bangkok, which I have every intention of doing, I will certainly remember its proximity about midway between the night market and The Siam Heritage. My sole reason for needing to remember the location of this hole in the wall restaurant has EVERYTHING to do with the green curry chicken I was served that night!

Firstly, it arrived in a large coconut with the aroma wafting from under the cut out top!

When I ordered, I swear I had NO IDEA what was in store with such fresh and perfectly seasoned ingredients, and even the basmati rice was the best I’ve tasted before and since.

This first bite was like nothing I’d ever had in the way of American Thai food… It was absolutely the best curry I’d tasted in all of my life! No cliche!

What I was NOT prepared for was the level of HOT PEPPER SPICE that was in the curry sauce… After a few bites, my eyes were watering, my nose was running and, while I loved it, I just wan’t sure I’d be able to finish eating the food in front of me. I mean, I wasn’t going to be able to finish anyway because of the portion, but the spiciness was on a thousand! I tried to get them to take it back to kitchen and water it down, but I eventually just sucked it up and savored the flavor, albeit very carefully and with lots of beer! I should have remembered that when I ordered Thai food in Dubai, I would always tell them that I needed my spiciness on level two!

Meanwhile, here it is months later and I’m WISHING I could get something that matched the level of that authentic Thai Chicken Green Curry in a coconut!

Simultaneously, on opposite ends of the world, protests in Ferguson, Missouri and Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, signify the ground zero of polarized political movement—the demand for democracy upheld by civil and human rights. The movements in Ferguson and Hong Kong are primarily youth-led and organized, a focal point not lost in media and supporters of radical struggle. Their objectives dictate a call to accountability and action. Sparked by the killing of unarmed African American 18-year-old Michael Brown in August, activists in Ferguson have engaged in ongoing protests to counter police bias and violence against Blacks and Latinos. In the wake of a succession of unjust murders at the hands of law enforcement officers, organizations are leading the way to reform in Ferguson including The Organization for Black Struggle, Hands Up United, and Millennial Activists United, among a host of social, political…

During two months in Hong Kong this summer, I marched in solidarity with demonstrators at two historic protests: the 25th Anniversary of Tiananmen Square on June 4th and the annual July 1st Protest Rally March. Protesters by the thousands gathered in Victoria Park to take part in candlelight vigils, staged performances and peaceful singing en masse.

Student activists who had died in 1989 advocating for democracy in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square were memorialized. On July 1st, I along with other New School students, in Hong Kong as part of the International Field Program,conducted video interviews with protesters asking, “If you could break the rules, what would you do?” The premise of the exercise, as explained by our faculty adviser, was to get protesters and spectators to reevaluate the nature of rules -in general- and question aspects about the concept of “rules” that are supposed to work in our favor. There was no context nor was there a right or wrong answer to the question we posed. Many of the protesters made mention of the upcoming 2017 Chief Executive election and said that if the promise of democracy is not followed through during that time, they would break the rules in favor of universal suffrage. Now, on the eve of China’s National Day on October 1, the largest mass protest in recent memory is taking place. (To read the FULL ARTICLE, visit The New Context, an online journal for the Milano School of International Affairs, The New School.)

In my travels I’ve come to appreciate the airports where customs/passport checkpoints are reminiscent of the pre-September 11th days of travel. We all remember the ease of stress free airports around the world before terrorism became the name of the game. Now days, there aren’t too many airports that will give you this feeling. Not that I’ve been to all that many, but between the 18 countries I’ve visited, and the countless others where there’s been short layovers, I have to say there’s one airport that sticks out in my mind, even now, months later. That’s Singapore’s Changi Airport! I passed through there on a 12 hour layover on my way to Hong Kong in June, and it has been a long, LONG time since I remember such an EASY entry into an international border. Wayyyyy better than when I got to Gold Coast, Australia earlier this year and forgot that I’d stored an apple in the bottom of my carry-on luggage at Los Angeles International. Let’s just say I was detained for upwards of one hour, threatened with a $1000 penalty and I think my name went on some kind of list! My mistake. But I’ll never travel with fruit again! But back to Changi…

What really impressed me was that when I stepped off of the Singapore Airlines plane around 7AM (also the best flight of my life!), I don’t know what exactly I expected, but I was completely surprised at how welcoming the airport staff and facilities were. Passing through customs was really as easy as 1-2-3, and that type of morning, it was extraordinary that not one person was in front of me in the line. There was no line! Unheard of!!

But what I’ll never forget about the airport is the attraction called Butterfly World. Now, this will sound absurd to most people, but all of my life I’ve had a fear of butterflies! Don’t get me wrong, I think they are lovely, whimsical creatures, full of love and wonder, and I don’t think there’s a chance that they would ever harm me. But that’s never alleviated the anxiety I feel if a butterfly starts flying in my general direction!

Nevertheless, I got the bright idea that I should use this time before my flight to Hong Kong to face my fear of these magical flying beings inside of the butterfly sanctuary.

Standing at the top of a winding staircase that leads down into the sanctuary, I stared at all of the people just casually chilling among the butterflies. Some actually TRYING to pick them up! It was pretty cool because I could see the various butterflies resting on the intricate floral arrangements, but they weren’t obnoxiously hovering about in my personal space. I walked around slowly and took a look at the different types of butterflies and even attempted to take a couple of selfies while a few of them soared in the vicinity. I literally almost dropped my camera a couple of times while ducking and dodging them though!

At the end of the day, I’m glad I took the time to experience something life changing, if only in the most minor of ways! There’s no way I would have gone into a butterfly sanctuary if I was just at home looking for something to do! But, looking for a mini adventure in the middle of my “commute” to the other side of the world, I was willing to open up to the possibilities! If only for a moment…

Here’s a review on Marsha Ambrosius latest album, Friends & Lovers, that I wrote for Berlin based Pop Magazine:

Coming out with her second album, Marsha Ambrosius releases Friends & Lovers three years after her first solo LP Late Nights & Early Mornings. The British singer and songwriter and former member of Floetry illustrates the world of emotional merry-go-round relationship navigation that comes with friends who become lovers. The lead single, “Stronger”, a cover of Sade’s 1988 hit song “Love Is Stronger Than Pride”, mashes up Marsha Ambrosius’ chill R&B style with a verse from gangsta rap guru turned billionaire businessman, Dr. Dre. This is the first time I’ve noticed Dr. Dre lace a verse on a legitimate love song and he waxes poetic on the age old friends-with-benefits turned ride-or-die romance narrative. The mashup remake takes you by surprise by sampling Jeru The Damaja’s 1993 banger “Come Clean”, and puts you in a space of Method Man’s and Mary J. Blige’s 90s collaboration. Marsha Ambrosius also samples Minnie Riperton’s “Loving You” on the song “La La La La La” but stops short of delivering the definitive sweet spot: Minnie’s timeless falsetto. Listening to the song, it leaves you either wanting to hear Ambrosius attempt the iconic high note, or be thankful that she chooses to stay in her lane throughout the song. (Click HERE for more!)

Tuesday afternoon was the July 1 March for democracy in Hong Kong. Every year NGOs meet at Victoria Park in demonstration to demand democracy, universal suffrage, rights of minorities, protection of freedom of speech, and so many other political concerns of value. Historically, July 1st is the anniversary of the British handover of HK back to China, though it has become a day of expressing all political concerns against Beijing in a solidified manner. A half a million people or more were anticipated to join in what is billed as an annual peaceful demonstration, and it was largely attended with throngs of people standing, marching, sitting, singing and speaking out for their cause in quite the orderly fashion.

My colleagues and I spent a few hours speaking to various attendees with a range of opinions on the state of affairs in Hong Kong relating to the upcoming 2017 elections. Such was the case during the mini-interviews we conducted for our “If You Could Break The Rules” man-on-the-street video project in Victoria Park where people expressed very heated yet eloquent political demands of Hong Kong’s government and residents. At the same time, many of the local Hong Kongers we spoke to could not legitimately conceptualize the idea of “breaking the rules”, nor could they see there ever being a necessity or justifiable reason to “break the law.” As Americans who have often had to face destructive “rules” or laws relating to ethnic background, gender, disabilities and sexual orientation, one can more readily answer a question like, “If you could break the rules what would you do? Which would it be?” But for them, it was not as culturally relevant to conceptualize, even in theory. Because of this, a lot of time was spent trying to bring value of the question to the thought process of the people we approached. Largely, people didn’t get it, though many tried to answer despite the seemingly rebellious nature of the inquiry.

Moving throughout the Victoria Park protest area proved to be problematic as a swift exit was a goal after two and a half hours of rallying and interviewing. It was inspiring to see so many people stand in solidarity of the day, but it was time to figure out an exit strategy. I had a first mind to convince my colleague to wade through the throngs of people so that we could reach a packed footbridge and try to get to the other side of Hennessy Road. Looking back, that would have been a bad idea for so many reasons. What I did not know, really neither of us, was that right in front of us, amidst the thousands of protesters jam-packed onto Hennessy, a thread of disruption would rip through the crowd in the most sensational way.

The energy was palpable as the crowd moved at snail’s pace. Swells of protest cries would come from the groups of people on either side of Hennessy and across the footbridge over the normal flow of traffic by taxis, buses, and other vehicles. Just by nature of the excess of people within such a tight space while being kept on the sidewalks with nowhere to move forwards or backwards, it was apparent that some sort of disruptive action would be needed to open the floodgate of activity despite the police presence. And then it happened. While my colleague and I had the natural instinct to already be recording footage of the marchers at standstill and the oncoming traffic, commotion began in the middle section of Hennessy when one or two protesters jumped the gate into the road where cars were driving. One young man, shirtless in red shorts and sneakers, and another in a black t-shirts and cap both managed to get into the street and start advancing forward though teams of police officers were ready to swarm them and stop their activity. The thing is, however, once they became visible in the middle of the street, the drama of seeing men being wrestled by the police compelled people to then rush into the streets as well. This effectively ended the flow of vehicle traffic as a standoff of people blocked all vehicles from being able to move.

This sparked a bit of exciting pandemonium all around and I had to quickly figure out what, or rather who, to record. There was the man screaming at the police to move the barriers and let the people through. There was another guy going back and forth, struggling with officers to create space. There was so much drama going on, which was completely different from the peaceful demonstration that largely categorized the day, that I tried to capture as much as I could on so many different subjects. Yet, it still seems like I didn’t get as much as I could have though I’ll be reviewing the footage all weekend. Would I have done the same in mainland China, absolutely not. There’s no way. But in Hong Kong, with the liberties it seems both citizens and residents can take to protest, make a scene, record the whole process, and walk away unquestioned, it feels very much like they are doing a lot of things right. It didn’t feel violent at all, however there was a clear urgency on the part of many of the protesters which, in the spirit of revolution, is respected. I commented to my colleague that had the same thing happened in the States, with the tensions between the protesters and the police officers, it is almost certain that the police would have used excessive force to silence the people. Actually, there’s no doubt in my mind some would have been beaten. So, the whole ordeal represents a cultural awareness for me on a lot of levels here in Hong Kong. I’m glad I was there to witness it all. POWER to the people!

The past quarter of a century has seen The Roots truly evolve within the sphere of American popular music, positioning the group as one of many foundational cornerstones. By now, they are truly ubiquitous as a band, having produced more than fifteen records, EPs and collaborative albums with artists from John Legend to Betty Wright to Elvis Costello. Then there are the individual songs with guest artists for which the list is too long to expand. Their next studio album, entitled …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin, will be released on May 19th and is expected to be a satirical look at the violence that is prevalent in Hip Hop and in American culture. At the core of the group are Tariq ‘Black Thought’ Trotter and Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson, holding down The Roots franchise since performing on the streets of Philadelphia back in the late 80s. For anyone paying attention to the long history of The Roots as a band, the relationships with past members have seemed complicated, to say the least. But the current incarnation of The Roots has seen transcendent crossover success that was solidified with their appointment as the house band for the celebrated American talk shows, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. In addition to their lifelong work as drummer/producer and lead MC of The Roots, Questlove has become an ‘elder statesman’ type historian musicologist DJ and writer, and Black Thought has acted in several films as well as worked with other notable recording artists.

As a longtime fan I have to admit, it’s become a bit difficult keeping up with all of their record releases over the twenty years since becoming familiar with their music. If you ask people in my circle for their favorite songs by The Roots, inevitably the classics will come up. 1994’s ‘Proceed’, ‘Lazy Afternoon’, ‘You Ain’t Fly’ and ‘Silent Treatment’ from their major label-debut album, Do You Want More!?, are still at the forefront of my mind when mentioning The Roots. I remember being in awe at the blaring horns and thumping bass of ‘Essaywhuman?!!!??!’ during Black Thought’s band roll call. ‘You Got Me’ became their first Grammy Award winning anthem representing the prevalent Neo-Soul school of music. It was co-written with fellow hometown hero Jill Scott featuring Philly rapper Eve and soul vocalist Erykah Badu on the 1999 breakthrough album Things Fall Apart. While 1996’s Illadelph Halflife is another personal favorite, their more recent albums like Phrenology and Rising Down carry the same weight of conscious lyricism in metaphoric Hip Hop storytelling accompanied by live instrumentation and genius production. Surely, these albums are favorites for their ever-expanding audience. The Roots remain true to their status of being Hip Hop’s first legitimate band and continue to achieve milestones in the industry including receiving a 2010 Grammy with John Legend for best R&B album Wake Up!, being named one of the ‘Twenty Greatest Live Acts in the World’ by Rolling Stone magazine, and receiving the ‘Heroes Award’ from the Philadelphia chapter of the Recording Academy. In addition to being the first Hip Hop band of late night television, they were also the first to perform at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. The Legendary Roots Crew are no longer rising stars as they have long risen to renowned status worldwide. At this point, I wish them to be the Rolling Stones of Hip Hop, still touring half a century into the game.

Legendary virtuoso Carlos Santana has released his next major album, Corazón, a fifteen track joint labor of love featuring collaborations with some of the biggest Latin music icons in the world. Almost 15 years ago, Santana’s Supernatural went super platinum and won nine Grammys, including Album of the Year. In the same vein, Corazón purposely invokes Supernatural’s vibe with soulful guest artists rounding out Santana’s first Spanish-language record of his career. International pop star Gloria Estefan performs passionate renditions of ‘Bejos de Lejos / Beijo de Longe’ in Spanish and in Portuguese with Santana’s guitar solo complementing the tune’s sultry Samba-inspired bass rhythm. Jazz elder statesman Wayne Shorter and jazz/rock drummer Cindy Blackman, Santana’s wife, weave together a meditational Love Supreme-esque movement with ‘Yo Soy La Luz (I am the light)’. Higher octane tracks on the album are entertaining remakes like Jarabe de Palo’s 1996 hit ‘La Flaca’, featuring Colombian sensation Juanes, a rendition poised to be a multiplatinum single similar to 1999’s ‘Smooth’ featuring Rob Thomas. A club mix remake of Santana’s own ‘Oye Como Va’ with Miami-based rapper Pitbull, and the Bob Marley classic ‘Iron Lion Zion’ featuring reggae superstar Ziggy Marley with hip hop group ChocQuibTown are well-preserved and favorable mashup moments on the album produced by Lester Mendez.

The concept and design of Corazón’s artwork is created by Madrid-based art collective Boa Mistura and illustrates a fiery psychedelic image of Carlos Santana detailed with a vivid layering of birds, flowers, ubiquitous eyes and colorful hearts. The album’s guest artists hail from Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Spain, Brazil, and the U.S. adding to the love of all things historically and culturally Latin represented on the record. With Corazón being Santana’s first Spanish-language, distinctively Latin album, there is a certain completeness and circle of energy with the artists that will make this project most memorable for fans around the world. Another great thing to note is that Santana’s Corazón Tour is currently taking place throughout the US and Canada, but for fans who won’t make it, be sure to watch the airing of his recent concert in Guadalajara, ‘Corazón, Live from Mexico: Live It To Believe It’.

As an artist, Blitz the Ambassador has mastered the form of mashup, taking the African music realm and fusing it with all things hip hop, funk, rock and soul. While musical genres like High Life and Afrobeat are immediately present in his music, listening deeply reveals a definitive diasporic musical melange. In The Warm Up EP and Native Sun, Blitz’s last studio album, central and east African musical influences also seem to inform the overall sound of his band, The Embassy Ensemble.

But, let’s take a step back and talk about Blitz’s self-appointment as Africa’s native son and spirited ambassador. An ambassador, as we commonly understand the title, is a diplomatic agent of the highest rank accredited to a foreign government as the representative of one’s own government, appointed for a special diplomatic assignment. In other words, a messenger. For over a decade, Blitz the Ambassador, Ghanaian-born, US based lyricist, composer and producer has been on a special assignment repping the Motherland. With each project he’s honed his craft as a wordsmith while exemplifying Africa more accurately rather than the tainted, skewed image in which she is often regarded. Ghana’s own, he is really a global citizen upholding the banner of African dignity and pride with determination. It’s seen as he dutifully shouts out cities and nations from all over his Africa on record.

This week Blitz releases his next studio album, Afropolitan Dreams. On this canvas, Blitz paints the narratives of young immigrants constantly bridging the gap between the world in which they live and the world from which they come. With the merger of the words African and cosmopolitan, the album promises to convey the semblance of culture clash, coexistence, and unbelievable journey. As with albums past, Afropolitan Dreams will deliver live instrumentation, studied African rhythms, and the soundscape of metropolitan life. He will continue telling stories in his masterful way, having gone back to Accra to work on the new album featuring Grammy-winning ‘queen of African music’ Angelique Kidjo, German/Nigerian soul/hip hop songstress Nneka, Brazilian hip hop star Marcelo D2, and French/Malian lyricist Oxmo Puccino, among other notable guests including Seun Kuti.

His goal is to create a project that inspires the memory of his coming of age and why he fell in love with music in the first place. Hip hop songs based in social political commentary influenced Blitz to develop his own expertise as an emcee. Likewise, African artists have always had social political messages which have also influenced his lyrical content. Afropolitan Dreams promises the story of love, globe-trotting, learning the best of what countries have to offer and returning back to Africa to make a significant contribution. His legacy is that of uplifting his people with affirmations and positive images, elevation, mind-over-matter, dreamer type universal truths etched in humanity and advocacy to be better human beings.